Screencap
by Amciel
Summary: Drabble 8 up!  Drinking Buddies:Escape Route-Rukia deals poorly with her guilt over abandoning Ichigo during the timeskip. Renji-Rukia-Ichigo  Prompts for drabbles welcome!
1. The Reason Why

Ichigo stared at Renji. A year and a half of change was nearly too much to take in. That idiot pinapple shirt. The new hairstyle, intricately braided, mostly the same brilliant scarlet, shockingly gray at the temples. The ropy tattoos that now twisted across his cheekbones, stained his lips, false fangs and flames that made him seem more a demon than the captain he was.

Ichigo stared at Renji, forcing himself to take in these radically different details, forcing himself to change the way he saw the world, so he could construct a new reality around what Renji had just said.

Rukia died over a year ago on a simple recon mission. Renji just found out no one had let Ichigo know.

Ichigo stared through Renji. An eternity of being alone looked back at him, smiling with violet eyes.


	2. The Reunion

In her dream, she stood on Sogkyoku's hill. As these things often work in dreams, the cross was already destroyed, the firebird nowhere to be seen-but she still felt the heat melting her bones, still felt the tears rolling down her face, still ached from the heartbreak of saying goodbye.

He stood in front of her, so different from the dashing rescuer of years past. Longer hair, sadder eyes-the throbbing waves of power washing from him were tinted with an acrid timbre.

"Yo."

An ocean of emotions swallowed her, heartbeats ringing out like crashing breakers.

She wasn't dreaming.


	3. Drinking Buddies:Hallelujah, Goodbye

_Drinking Buddies, part 1  
Hallelujah, Goodbye: The day I let you go.  
GinRan, IchiRuki  
Rating: G. _

It's been a year." Matsumoto said quietly.

Rukia stared down at the nameless grave and fought against an unwelcome tide of sudden emotion. Sediments of memory swirled uninvited through her mind, sullying the mental clarity she'd fought so hard to achieve.

"You're drunk, fukutaicho." She finally replied. "The memorial celebration was a month ago."

"And what a party that was! But I don't mean Aizen's arrest. " Matsumoto took another long pull from her sake bottle. "I mean it's been a year since you and the human said goodbye."

Birds sang in the trees. The sun shone down on the two women sitting on the stairs of a broken down wooden shack. A cheerful breeze stirred the fresh grass clippings Matsumoto Fukutaicho had cut from around a plain wooden gravemarker.

It was some time before Rukia spoke again.

"Yes. A year." Her own rice wine was untouched. Rukia had learned quite by accident (thanks to Matsumoto Fukutaicho) that she was a happy drunk. In this setting, on this day…well, it didn't seem right.

More silence. The house creaked comfortably as Matsumoto shifted her weight.

"It's selfish, but I'm glad for your company." The older woman said. She looked right at Rukia, gray eyes an ocean of memory. "Glad someone else has a reason to remember today."

Rukia broke eye contact first, looking back at the wooden marker. "Who's grave is this, Matsumoto Fukutaicho?"

Another long stretch of peaceful quiet. Matsumoto drained the rest of her wine and reached for Rukia's untouched bottle.

"You didn't know him."

And here was the longest pause so far, for there was nothing else they had to say.


	4. Try Again Tomorrow

**_Tomorrow_**

_IshiHime fluff, during the timeskip  
_

_Dedicated to Debbie, Idea somewhat stolen from L.M. Montgomery._

* * *

She had a beautiful scowl. Ishida knew his face always held too much anger-it was why so many of his classmates avoided his eye. When Inoue-san scowled, however, emotions played across her face like wind chimes and you couldn't help but stare. A delicate frown, worried eyes, a hint of sadness all flashed across her face as she sat motionless at the desk, hands idly turning her current handicrafts projects over and over.

He sat next to her, clearing his throat. Startled, she looked over.

"Ishida-kun!" The smile was genuine despite her unhappiness.

He raised an eyebrow, wordlessly asking what was the matter.

"Oh, it's nothing." She said, shrugging. "I just...today...well, it wasn't a bad day, not by any means, but it just wasn't..." She vaguely waved her hand, gesturing to her own perceived imperfections.

Ishida sat quietly for a moment, organizing his thoughts while he arranged his sewing materials.

"Well, Inoue-san, I suppose you just need to remember there is always tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow, like every day, will start out perfectly. With no mistakes in it."

"No mistakes _yet_, Ishida-kun." She pointed out.

"True," he said, "But I've found that my biggest mistakes have made way for my best memories." Like challenging one lone shinigami substitute and ending up with friends.

It was her turn to fall silent. Ishida dropped his eyes, focusing on his handiwork with feigned concentration.

"So...we make memories, not mistakes." Inoue said slowly. "And, bad or good, we always have to start new tomorrow." She laughed, clapping her hands. He didn't have to look over to know her eyes would be sparkling-but he did anyway. "Ishida-kun, that's so true! You're so smart!" She jumped up, gathering her supplies together.

"You're leaving?"

"I have to go bake something!" She laughed. "Thank you for the advice, Ishida-kun! I feel so much better!"

Ishida opened his mouth to say one more thing...but she was already gone.

_Ah well_. He thought, _There's always tomorrow._


	5. The Hardest Thing

**The Hardest Thing**

****_Ichigo-Rukia_

_The 17 months without her_

* * *

He missed her the most in fall. There were moments when his eyes drifted shut at night, minutes in the morning as he slowly woke up and he'd forget how much the world had changed. But reality would always catch up fast and he'd feel the bland emptiness of being just…human. Yeah, those first few months were the hardest.

He missed her the most that winter. Funny. She'd never been to Karakura town during that time of year. Still, whenever a cold breeze whispered past, he would spin around expecting her. Not like he could have seen anything if she was. Chalk it up to human stubbornness, but it never stopped him from looking. Not once. Yeah, that first winter was the hardest.

He missed her the most when spring came. He didn't tell anyone, but as the weeks rolled closer and closer to May, he let himself hope that maybe…but then That Day passed like any normal, human day. Yeah, spring was the hardest.

He missed her most that summer. Every day was another marker, another "A year ago today…" He tried not to think about it which of course made him remember. On June 17, he stood in front of a single grave, his thoughts filled with two different people. It rained. Yeah, that summer was the hardest.

He missed her most that first year. A whole year of dreams, of little reminders, pangs of conscience when one of his friends went out to fight demons alone. And then…it wasn't so hard. He figured out how to evade everyone's questions. He joined the sports teams, got a job, was a senior, and pretended the memories were fading. Yeah, after a year of being just human…lying about it got easier.

Then, hope. A promise of power. He chased it madly but ended up on his knees, just as worthless, just as powerless, screaming his defiance to the rain. That was the hardest part-had to be.

But then Ichigo turned around.

In that moment on the roof, seeing her for the first time, Ichigo missed Rukia more than ever. In that moment, every memory he'd pushed back, all the feeling's he'd bleached out, they tore through him. He remembered every moment of the past year and a half and ached to see how much she had changed, how much she had gained without him. She smiled as he said her name. The world around them faded to white. As Zangetsu's familiar weight settled in his hands, the heaviness in his soul lifted.

He turned his back to her. There was a job to do and once again, she'd given him the power to do it.

Even though he knew she'd still be there when he finished, tearing his gaze away was the hardest thing he had ever done.


	6. Untitled

_ **UNTITLED**_

_ Character: Rukia_  
_ It's time to start things over._

* * *

Rukia tilted the picture frame back, letting the sunlight bleach out Hisana's wan smile. The glass reflected her own face back, a near twin of her older sister, her brother's wife. This face was the sole reason she was here.

Her whole life, Rukia had let herself be defined by rank, relation, title. She started as 'that urchin girl'. At school, she'd been ' Renji's friend'. Adoption into the Kuchiki family had given her a wealth of new names and identities—the Noble's Pet Beggar, Byakuya's guilty indulgence, the 6th Squad Captain's sister, the 13th Squad's new burden. After Kaien was killed, things were worse than ever—that's when she started to name herself. Coward. Weakling. Murderer.

And then…Ichigo. Memories flooded through her, chaotic and colorful, a new life with a boy who's vitality and energy had patched up holes in her soul she didn't know existed. They'd been on a first name basis, resorting to the occasional insult, two completely original people born from society's tired leftovers.

It had been like staring at the sun, she remembered, his grin gleaming in a face covered in sweat and grime, waves of shimmering heat billowing his cloak while the wind blew her hair across her eyes. He had saved her in more ways than one.

Gone now.

Rukia fingered the whispy, feathery ends of her hair. It flipped out at the shoulders, just like her sister's. It was getting long now, like her brother's. She wore it in the same style she always had, since those street-rat days with Renji.

She carefully replaced Hisana's portrait and headed back to her rooms. A servant hurried to her in the hallway, bowing low.

"My Lady, it is time to leave for your promotion ceremony."

"Thank you. I shall be prepared presently."

Rukia went to her room quickly. There was a small package on her desk, a white ribbon tied in a flawless bow around crisp tissue paper. One tug on the ribbon's tails neatly unraveled the wrapping. Byakuya's congratulatory gift, silk gloves reminding her that no matter what title Soul Society gave her, he would first and foremost consider her his family-nobility.

Rukia stood in front of her small mirror, staring at her reflection, at a sister long dead. Today, for the first time, Rukia would be receiving a title she had desired, fought for, earned. She wasn't going to show up for it looking like someone else.

Sode no Shiraiyuki slid out of the scabbard with a cool scrape as Rukia, smiling, grabbed a handful of her sister's hair.


	7. Strip Poker Face

**_POKER FACE_**

_Inspired by ch. 460 and all the changes to the shinigami's outfits! _

* * *

Renji knew the two Kuchiki siblings weren't related by blood. He knew it was random chance that had brought them together. He'd seen firsthand what different lifestyles the two of them led, what differing backgrounds they'd had. No, Rukia and Byakuya were not even close to being the same person.

So why the hell were their poker faces CARBON COPIES OF EACH OTHER?

Renji stared hard at the cards in his hand, risking a glance at the pile of castoff garments to one side. So this was strip poker. He'd already lost his vice captains' badge. Kenpachi's eyepatch was there along with Hitsugaya's haori and Ikkaku's socks and shoes.

His captain had faired the worst—He'd lost the hairclips one at a time. His scarf was gone as well and now the second of his gloves were on the table. It was odd—his captain was normally a champion at cards.

"Call!" Everyone put their cards down. Impossible. Rukia had won AGAIN and Byakuya had the worst hand…for the fifth time in a row. There was a beeping from Rukia's pocket. She jumped up.

"That's my signal!" She said, grinning. "Hope you boys aren't naked by the time you come over."

"Rukia." Byakuya calmly held out his gloves. "It's raining over there. Your short sleeved hakama is not appropriate for the weather. You've won these—go ahead and take them with you."

"Nii-Sama!" Rukia gasped. "Thank you!" She gave them all a final sparkling smile and ran out of the room.

As Ikkaku dealt out another hand, Renji stared suspiciously at his captian. One corner of Byakuya's mouth twitched in a smile as he studied his new cards.

Renji put the pieces together and folded immediately.

He'd been losing on purpose. There was no way Kuchiki Byakuya was going to send his sister off to see Kurosaki Ichigo with even an extra inch of bare skin showing.


	8. Drinking Buddies: Escape Route

_Drinking Buddies, part 2_

_Escape Route  
RenRuki, IchiRuki  
Rating: PG_

Rukia was normally a happy drunk. Renji had discovered that the night of her promotion to vice captain (along with the fact it was GREAT to be drinking buddies with someone who had access to a Kuchiki Family All Flower Pass). Tonight, however, she was deadly quiet.

"All I'm saying is," Renji kicked a rock off the path and hoisted Rukia up higher on his back. "You're lucky I even got out of bed. Hell, you're lucky Hisagi knew to get me instead of Kuchiki-taicho!" No response. "Your brother would have sent a freakin' carriage and a pack of servants to come drive you home and then he wouldn't have let you back out for a month."

From the sheer number of empty cups left behind on the table, Rukia had drunk her way _past_ being happy, through inebriated, and seemed to have come out eerily sober on the other side. She had been sitting perfectly still, face flushed, eyes stone cold, staring into what was left of a candle. There were at least 3 empty bottles on the floor under her chair-not the clay jugs for sake but the glass bottles for the really dangerous stuff everyone knew that damn bartender made in the shed out back.

Rukia started to slip back down again.

"If you don't at least make the effort to hold on, so help me I will dump your ass by the side of the road."

Rukia's arms tightened around his neck, and she rested her chin on his shoulder. The alcohol on her breath was making Renji's eyes water. They were still a long way from the Kuchiki mansion. He could have shuunpoed there in an instant but there was something nice about walking with Rukia under the stars-even if she was barely conscious.

"Do you know what today is?" Rukia asked quietly. Renji thought hard. They'd marked the first year after the winter war a few months back and he was pretty sure Rukia's birthday wasn't for a while still. Perhaps today was when Vice Captian Kaien had...but no, that had been during a summer, hadn't it? It was so long ago - he still got chills thinking about Rukia's eyes when he'd caught a glimpse of her at the funeral for the Vice Captian and his wife.

Come to think of it...wasn't that just how she had looked at him inside the bar?

"No idea." He shrugged, bumping her up higher. " Human Christmas?"

"That's in December, idiot." Another stretch of silence, then Rukia took a deep breath. "It's nothing. Today is nothing. Not an anniversary, not a memory, not anything. Just a random day, one out of hundreds. He's got to think we've given up on him by now. How long are we going to leave him there?"

Renji went cold. He knew who she was thinking about. It seemed like an eternity before the lights of the Kuchiki mansion appeared on the horizon. He trudged up the hill as Rukia's tears, hot with shame, ran down his neck.


End file.
